Mother charged with falsely reporting her child’s kidnapping

A 24-year-old Eunice mother is charged after falsely reporting her 5-year-old son had been kidnapped, according to St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz.
Artasia Quantaya Viges, of the 200 block of Mae Street, is charged with felony cruelty of juveniles, misdemeanor child desertion, and felony false swearing for the purpose of violating public health or safety. Bail was set at $200,000.
The incident began at about 1 a.m. Nov. 5 after deputies responded to a call of kidnapping of a young child in the U.S.190 and Industrial Road area.
Viges reported that individuals in an older model truck had kidnapped her son as she was parked on the roadway attending to a deflated tire.
Almost immediately upon arriving on scene, deputies learned that the unattended child was found by citizens on the parking lot of Heinen Medical Clinic with abrasion injuries to his knees, Guidroz reported in a news release.
The child was taken to the nearby hospital for treatment.
With this vast disparity in statements, the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office Juvenile Detectives were called in to investigate, Guidroz stated.
“A subsequent interview with Artasia Viges revealed the awful truth; there was no kidnapping and a young child was left unattended along a major roadway and allowed to run off in the night. What started as a disagreement between a mother and a child became a bizarre reaction to the child having a tantrum.
“As the mother pulled the car over, the child, obviously not properly restrained, bailed out of the car before it came to a stop, resulting in the injuries to the child’s knees. The mother chose to leave the child out of the car, allowing him to run off in the dark, along major roadways. The mother admitted to detectives that she did not attempt to go after him and ultimately lost sight of him.”
Anyone with additional information about this crime is encouraged to call the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office at 337-948-6516.
Information may also be called into Crime Stoppers at 337-948-TIPS, download the P3 app on a mobile device or dial **TIPS on a mobile phone to tip. All calls are anonymous and can earn a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.